Environment

From Bob Hainey: In its second year as an Arbor Day Foundation partner, Pepco is providing 3,000 free trees to customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia through the Energy-Saving Trees program. One thousand trees will be available for each Pepco jurisdiction in the District of Columbia, and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland. Launched as a pilot initiative in 2011, the Energy-Saving Trees program conserves energy and reduces household electricity bills through strategic tree planting.

The Family & Youth Casting Call (FYCC) is a fun family and youth fishing event at Fletcher's Cove on the C&O Canal in Washington DC. The 2012 event is scheduled for Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21.

What better way to get kids “hooked” on nature than by teaching them how to fish? This April, local and national fishing and conservation organizations will once again host the Family & Youth Casting Call to help “set the hook” for children to learn about nature and fishing in the Washington, DC area. A wiggling fish on the end of a taut line can be one of the most tangible connections between having fun outside and learning about conserving our natural resources.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 2012 Tag Challenge calls on technology enthusiasts from several nations to set their sleuthing skills loose on a mock gang of jewel thieves in an international search contest to take place Saturday, March 31.

The social gaming contest will have participants use technological and social resources to locate and photograph five “suspects” in five different cities—Washington, D.C., New York City, London, Stockholm, and Bratislava—based only on a picture and a short description of each one.

The first person to upload pictures of all five suspects to the Tag Challenge website will earn international bragging rights—and a cash prize of $5,000.

The U.S. Botanic Garden presents Orchid Mystique: Nature’s Triumph from February 18 through April 29. This annual orchid exhibit, in collaboration with Smithsonian Gardens, features orchids from around the globe.

The DC Department of Public Works announced yesterday that the November drop-off for household hazardous waste, e-cycling and personal document shredding will be Saturday, December 3, at the Ft. Totten Transfer Station, between 8 am and 3 pm, 4900 John F. McCormack Rd., NE.* To accommodate residents whose religious beliefs prohibit them from using the Saturday drop-off, DPW accepts household hazardous waste and e-cyclables the first Thursday of the month (December 1, from 1 pm to 5 pm).

Casey Trees will plant 52 residential street trees in Georgetown in a partnership with Trees for Georgetown and the Urban Forestry Administration (UFA). 32 trees will be added before Thanksgiving followed by 20 more in March.

Trees for Georgetown selected the planting sites and corresponding tree species from a list potential locations identified by the UFA.